Stage set for election debut of President's dancer daughter

President Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha will face her maiden electoral battle after she was declared the Congress’s candidate from the Greater Kailash constituency for the Delhi Assembly polls.

Politics is in her blood and Sharmistha is only following in her father’s footsteps. Mukherjee has been in politics for over four decades and has held various portfolios, while brother Abhijit is an MP from Jangipur in West Bengal.

The 49-year-old danseuse, known for her Kathak prowess, said, “I have learnt from my father’s career”.

Sharmistha interacted extensively with people around her home in Greater Kailash along with other areas in the constituency and the party’s grass root level workers before taking the final call.

Sharmistha said she never felt nervous and entering politics came naturally to her. “At first, the signs were not very encouraging, but now I am confident of the Congress’s chances in my constituency,” she said.

“There is definitely dissatisfaction with the Aam Aadmi Party’s actions following the previous election”, Sharmistha said.

In 2008, the Greater Kailash seat was won by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Saurabh Bhardwaj. The Congress’s Virender Kasana came third. On the challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the aspiring MLA said the revival of public faith in the Congress will surprise many.

As for the outsider tag, Sharmistha claims to be a Delhiite to the core. She has lived in the colony since 1986 in her father’s flat, studied history at St Stephen’s and completed her masters from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Talking about her political priorities, she said: “Policies should be inclusive and should benefit people from all ends of the social spectrum and account for dissenting voices. Policy-making should not be about a ‘my way or the highway’ approach.”

The President’s daughter is also a vocal critic of the current state of women’s safety and representation, calling for decisive action on gender sensitisation.